UAE expats without ID card face fine

Expatriates in the UAE who have yet to get themselves ID cards will face daily fines from October.

New mandatory ID card were introduced by the UAE authorities earlier in the year, and now anyone who has yet to get one will be fined 20 AED a day.

Although the fining system affects all citizens in the UAE, it is suspected that expats are those most at threat as most native citizens already have ID cards.

To drum home the importance of these cards, various other agencies are not allowing their own products to be utilised without a valid ID card, such as the Roads and Transport Authority. The recently announced that travel passes will not be issued unless the individual has an ID card: “It is an absolute must to present a valid national ID card in applying for a Monthly Pass. This is RTA policy,” their statement said.

Various medical institutions have also begun to only treat individuals with ID cards, and soon the possession of an ID card will be intrinsically lined to the whole procedure of becoming an expat in the UAE.

Announced by the Emirates Identity Authority, the daily fines will be capped at the 1,000 AED mark.